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Russell Powell

03/07/2014

Attorneys for Mark Zmuda, the former Vice Principal at Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish, Washington, have filed a civil suit against the school and the archdiocese today in King County Superior Court. I have not seen the complaint yet, but it is certain to make claims under the state antidiscrimination statute (RCW 49.60). I understand that lawyers for the school and the archdiocese already have a motion to dismiss prepared.

02/05/2014

The role of the Church in law is dynamic. For the early Christian community, law was often a tool of oppression wielded by the state, though it was occasionally used to challenge arbitrary state power by leaders who had access to citizenship and education such as the Apostle Paul. Once states (particularly the Roman Empire) formally endorsed Christianity, making it the official religion, the Church’s approach to law shifted from a posture of critique to one of power and justification. Although states and the contexts in which they governed did not remain static, it is arguable that the Catholic Church generally continued to imagine law as a tool that it could legitimately use to encourage conformity with its teaching. The Reformation and the rise of modern nation states challenged this identification between states and the Catholic Church, gradually shifting the Church’s posture back to one of defense and critique. However, this was not a reversion to the marginalization of the early Church. Instead, it gave the Church the opportunity to consider and comment on the policy implications of its teaching, especially its social teaching, without the power to enforce its doctrine on states. Ideally this gives Church institutions and Catholic scholars freedom, objectivity and moral authority to proffer arguments for the appropriate place of law in fostering the common good. In this project, we rely on authoritative expressions of Church teaching, and we apply a variety of methods rooted in our tradition and the best of contemporary science and social science. If the Mirror of Justice is a fair example of the development of Catholic legal theory, it is obvious that it represents a diversity of views, which are sometimes in opposition. Even so, we rely on the same body of texts and traditions, and we endeavor to engage legal problems in ways that are faithful to our commitments to Christ and the Gospel. We strive to engage each other and the world in a spirit of humility, motivated by love.

What is the law of the People of God? It is the law of love, love for God and love for neighbour according to the new commandment that the Lord left to us. It is a love, however, that is not sterile sentimentality or something vague, but the acknowledgment of God as the one Lord of life and, at the same time, the acceptance of the other as my true brother, overcoming division, rivalry, misunderstanding, selfishness; these two things go together. Oh how much more of the journey do we have to make in order to actually live the new law — the law of the Holy Spirit who acts in us, the law of charity, of love! Looking in newspapers or on television we see so many wars between Christians: how does this happen?[ …] We must ask the Lord to make us correctly understand this law of love. How beautiful it is to love one another as true brothers and sisters. How beautiful! Let’s do something today. (Pope Francis I, 6/12/13)

11/17/2012

Lennon Cihak, a 17-year-old from Minnesota, has reportedly been denied confirmation and communion for opposing Minnesota Amendment 1 on his Facebook page. The unsuccessful amendment would have defined marriage in the Minnesota Constitution as between one man and one woman in the state. According to the report below, Cihak's entire family has been denied communion.

10/20/2012

I am very disappointed in Rev. Billy Graham. As a Catholic, I do not share all of his theology, but I have generally held him in high regard as a Christian leader. If, as a matter of conscience, he has decided to endorse Governor Romney, that is fine. If, as a matter of theology, he holds the conviction that Mormonism is a cult (a view he has publicly maintained for decades), that is his right. However, hiding/denying the latter in order give greater credibility to the former strikes me as hypocritical. If this effective endorsement represents a shift in his theology, it would be far more meaningful to publish a statement indicating that Rev. Graham no longer believes that Mormonism is a cult.

An archived version of the characterization of Mormonism as a cult, pulled from the Billy Graham website after it became obvious that it was in tension with the effective endorsement, may be found here...

07/31/2012

In the latest of a series of decisions striking down DOMA, today in Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management, Judge Vanessa Bryant of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut found Section 3 of DOMA to violate equal protection. In her 100-plus page opinion, Judge Bryant, a George W. Bush appointee, conlcudes that "homosexuals display all the traditional indicia of suspectness and therefore statutory classifications based on sexual orientation are entitled to a heightened form of judicial scrutiny." Even so, she goes on to find that the statute fails to pass muster even under the rational basis standard.

04/17/2012

The following article has interesting thoughts challenging assumptions regarding wealth. While the author's arguments are not made in the context of Catholic teaching, several of his points seem consistent with aspects Catholic social thought. In particular, article reminded me of the the Pastoral Letter, Economic Justice for All, and last Sunday's Reading from the fourth chapter of Acts. http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/04/16

04/09/2012

Below is a link to a recent talk given by Harvard undergraduate, Matthew Vines, on Christianity and homosexuality. He has a good grasp of scripture and Church tradition on the topic, which is impressive for someone his age. However, I believe that people are responding to his presentation because of the sense of authenticity, integrity and engagement he communicates. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezQjNJUSraY

03/08/2012

The Wall Street Journal has a sobering article on the plight of LGBT homeless youth. Although I understand the impulse of the Church and the LGBT community to take positions on marriage equality, it is deeply saddening that more resources are not spent protecting children. As a Catholic, I am particularly concerned that public political discourse by both the laity and the clergy contributes to a culture that considers these children disposable. Although this consequence is generally not intended, a distorted view of Christianity sometimes provides the basis for abusing or abandoning LGBT young people.

02/23/2012

Yesterday, Disctrict Court Judge Jeffrey White granted the plaintiff's summary judgment motion and ordered OPM to enroll the same-sex spouse of a federal court employee in its benefit program in a 43-page opinion finding DOMA to be unconstitutional on equal protection grounds. White was a George W. Bush appointee.

02/09/2012

The bill which would allow gay marriage in the State of Washington received support from Republicans in both houses. Maureen Walsh (R) from Walla Walla, in the southeastern part of the state, made a particularly passionate plea for bipartisan support that can be viewed here...

The bill is expected to be signed by the governor on Monday. However, it will not become effective unless and until it receives voter support in a planned referendum and initiative intended to prevent the bill from becoming law (presuming they qualify for the upcoming November ballot).

05/26/2011

The question of accountability has again been raised in this article at Time.com regarding the arrest of a priest in the archdiocese of a prominent cardinal who has advised Pope Benedict on issues related to abuse by clergy. Given the facts presented in the article, the accused priest's arrest is likely an important move. It will be interesting to follow future reports to see whether Church officials or policies played a role.

02/21/2011

Much of the dialogue surrounding political and legal reform in the Middle East revolves around visions of secularism, which are usually meant to frame the relationship between religion and the state. In the most recent issue of Commonweal, Charles Taylor recasts secularism as the response of the democratic state to diversity. See "Religion Is Not the Problem." See also Charles Taylor's fascinating book, A Secular Age.

02/04/2011

Commmonweal currently has interesting pieces on events in Egypt here and here. A stable Egypt has contributed to peace in the region since the Camp David Accords, but our economic and strategic support of the regime has undoubtedly been in tension with our commitments to democracy and human rights. As someone who studies the region, I believe that this is a complicated situation that belies simplistic solutions. Let us pray for leaders in the U.S. and Egypt and most importantly for peace, justice, security and the defense of human dignity in Egypt.